Vehicle or Not

According to Wikipedia, the Bicycle Pedal Boat is a Vehicle

There’s a bit of confusion about vehicles and vehicular operation around the internet. I suspect some of the confusion results from a fondness for bicycle-specific facilities that reduce the stress level of people on bikes. The confusion is made worse by our legal system. In most states, bicycles are considered as vehicles, though in some, they are called “devices” that are supposed to operate as IF they were vehicles. Why do I bring this up now, my loyal reader might wonder? Well, it is because I saw the bicycle pedal boat at the top of this post. That CERTAINLY wouldn't qualify as a vehicle, would it?

Vehicular Operation of a Motorcycle - Darn Good Bike Handling Skills, Too!

So I went to one of my favorite sources. I was surprised to find that my own thoughts that a vehicle is a wheeled conveyance are WRONG! According to Wikipedia, a vehicle is any “mobile machine that transports passengers or cargo. Most often, vehicles are manufactured, such as bicycles, cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles, trains, ships, boats and aircraft.”

Yet Another Vehicle - Lockheed P-80 at Western Museum of Flight in Torrance, California

Hmm, so that means that the only way you can AVOID vehicular operation of a bike is to walk it. It also means that a horse isn’t a vehicle, though the rider is supposed to follow vehicular rules. And that, really is what things are about. Our road system works, more or less, because people follow rules. It’s why we “stay right” (in the USA) and why people aren’t supposed to crash into those in front of them. Still, I never really thought of a bicycle pedal boat as a vehicle before.


No Vehicles in this Photo, Though Dorothy is Teaching these Children About Operating Them

Vehicle Surrounded by "Non Vehicles"

No Vehicles in This Shot from Keller, Texas, Though They're Following the Rules of the Road